Winter Paralympic Games 2026 History: Why it's called the Paralympics, when the first Paralympic Games was held, and the man who invented it
It’s going to be an amazing 10 days of sporting excellence in Italy.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games are set to start this week, taking place over 10 days of competition from Friday, March 6, to Monday, March 16.
They come less than two weeks after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, which saw Team GB win a record-breaking three gold medals (along with a silver and a bronze).
It will see 612 athletes from 56 countries compete in 79 events across six sports - with a number of subcategories ensuring athletes will compete against those with similar impairments.
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Channel 4 will be broadcasting plenty of live action from the games - including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies - along with faily roundups, meaning you won’t have to miss a single gold medal.
But when did the Paralympics start, who dreamed them up, and where did the name come from?
Here’s what you need to know.
Who came up with the idea of the Paralympic Games?
While not officially called the Paralympics, the event that started the movement was the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948 - on the same day that the London Olympics began.
It was organised by neurologist Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire. Guttman, who had fled Nazi Germany, invited British World War II veteran patients with spinal cord injuries to compete in the event designed to be an Olympic Games for people with disabilities.
The event continued to be held at the hospital annually, with the first overseas athletes - veterans from Holland and Israel - taking part in 1952.
As of 2024 the torch relay for the Paralympics will begin at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
When were the first Paralympic Games?
The ninth Stoke Mandeville Games were held outside the UK for the first time in 1960, coinciding with the Rome 1960 Olympics. This games has been designated the first Paralympics.
A total of 400 athletes from 23 countries participated in 57 events in eight sports.
The 1964 Tokyo Summer Games were the first to offically use the Paralympics name.
When was the first Winter Paralympics?
The first Paralympic Winter Games were held in Sweden in 1976. Athletes from 16 countries competed in alpine and cross-country skiing.
Why is it called the Paralympics?
Many assume that the name of the Paralympic Games has something to do with the word ‘paralysed’ but this is far from the truth. The name actually comes from merging the word Olympics with the Greek word ‘para’, meaning ‘beside’ or ‘alongside’. It simply illustrates that the games are held ‘parallel’ to the Olympics - which they have done since the 1960 Rome Games.
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